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You are here: Home / B Review / Review: Wild Heart by Lori Brighton

Review: Wild Heart by Lori Brighton

February 9, 2010 by Mandi 13 Comments

Wild Heart

Leo Roberts is next in line for an earldom and the power and fortune that come with it, but he is uncultured, unrefined–and completely untamed. . .until governess Ella Finch arrives upon the scene. Can so young and inexperienced a woman tutor him in the manners and mores of his class? Leo’s mysterious past has rendered him an outsider, too wild for polite society. But he finds her innocence most intriguing. . .

What manner of man he may be, Ella does not know. Yet he fascinates her and she must know more. Capturing Leo’s reckless heart is about to free her in ways she never dreamed of. . .and his sensual touch releases the deepest yearnings of her body and soul. . .

Wild Heart by Lori Brighton
Historical Romance
November 1, 2009
Paperback, 320 Pages
Zebra
Reviewed by Mandi

Ella, who spent her younger years at an orphanage, is hired as a governess for Leo Roberts. Now, don’t get confused – Leo is a fully grown man, and his problem isn’t that he doesn’t know his lessons. He needs help behaving in polite English society. When Leo was young, he witnessed his parents murder in India. For years, he lived on his own in the jungle, having to perform horrendous things to stay alive. Now he is back in England, determined to find his parent’s killers. His grandfather wants him to take over his estate and duties, and Leo is there just to go through the motions. But Leo is a very broken, tortured soul. He rarely speaks to anyone and often has violent temper tantrums and outbursts of anger.

When Ella meets him, she is overwhelmed with his feelings of anger and desperation. Ella is an empath, she can feel human and animal emotion. With the promise of freedom in six months if she can make it that long with Leo, she is determined to get through to him. Soon, her calming influence takes hold, and Leo starts realize he may have an ally and someone he can trust. With that, an attraction develops and together they try to untangle the web of lies and bring closure to Leo’s tortuous past.

Wild Heart has one of my favorite types of heroes – the broken, tortured man. Leo is very damaged. When I first started the book I mentioned to a friend that I hope he stays tortured throughout most of the book – and he does. Not that I like to see a hero suffer, but Leo is so broken to begin with, I didn’t want an overnight miracle. Lori Brighton makes Leo work in this book. He starts barely able to suppress his anger enough to talk, and by the end there is a very believable love story between him and Ella.

It works so well because Ella has no other life to return to at first. She forces herself to six months with Leo, and then she can be on her own. Yet, she soon sees a different side of Leo. He is still quick to anger, and hides behind a mask, but once she gets a quick glimpse of the real him, she knows he is something to work for. For Leo’s part, many times he plays the arrogant ass, full well knowing it gets under Ella’s skin. He is no dummy, and knows how to play her. But foremost on his mind is finding his parents murderer and that rage is what drives him in this story. The mystery plays a big role in this book and I liked the twists and turns it takes. There are a few times Ella puts herself in danger for silly reasons, but for the most part, I liked how Leo and Ella work together.

Wild Heart is billed as a paranormal romance, yet the paranormal aspect in very light and in my opinion is weak and I think this book would have been just as good, maybe better, if the paranormal is taken out. Her ability factors into the plot and mystery of the book, but for most of the story I forgot she had this ability.

Wild Heart has a very intense, lustful romantic feel. Terrific tension builds throughout this story, and Leo brings his wild, dark life into the bedroom as well. I really enjoyed this one and hope to read more from Lori Brighton.

Rating: 4/5

Recent Reviews:
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Lori Brighton Website and Twitter.

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Filed Under: B Review, Four Stars, Historical Romance, Lori Brighton, Zebra

Comments

  1. Leontine says

    February 9, 2010 at 8:07 am

    Oh yes, I'm loving the sound of Leo and of course have this book ordered. Especially the romance part really attracts me to read this story ;)

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  2. inthehammockblog says

    February 9, 2010 at 10:06 am

    You've sold me on this one! I've been curious for awhile and now it's going on the to read list!

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  3. Blodeuedd says

    February 9, 2010 at 10:24 am

    Hehe I am also such a sucker for the tortured hero, and he sure stayed that way ;) He was sure my favorite thing about this book

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  4. Patti says

    February 9, 2010 at 10:50 am

    I've got this one in my TBR and keep grabbing it and changing my mind – next time I'll start reading it!

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  5. Smokinhotbooks says

    February 9, 2010 at 12:38 pm

    This has a very Jane Eyre vibe and you know how much I heart tortured heros.

    This makes me want to put down Spider's Bite and pick up Wild Heart.

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  6. Book Junkie says

    February 9, 2010 at 1:39 pm

    This looks really good. I so love the tourtured hero too! How can you not!

    Brande

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  7. Christine says

    February 9, 2010 at 3:59 pm

    Great review, Mandi! I'm glad you enjoyed this one as much as I did! : )

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  8. Fiction Vixen says

    February 9, 2010 at 4:30 pm

    Hmm broken and tortured. Seems to be a theme in my reading these days. Have to admit I like it. Nice review.

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  9. Tori says

    February 9, 2010 at 6:49 pm

    LOve the review. Definitely put this on my TBR list. I like love story that makes the hero & heroine work for it.

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  10. Lea says

    February 9, 2010 at 7:08 pm

    Wonderful Review Mandi, awesome! Leo sounds like a memorable hero.

    Thank you for sharing.

    :-)
    L

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  11. Danielle87 says

    February 9, 2010 at 7:17 pm

    "I didn’t want an overnight miracle" – yep, I hate that too. I like a good tortured hero, and my favorite aspect of any such romance is the *journey* the hero undertakes to heal himself.

    Great review. This one is going in the TBR pile.

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  12. Sasha says

    February 10, 2010 at 3:54 am

    Hi, Mandi. I am inexplicably yet unabashedly attached to tortured heroes–there's a danger, though, that the romance is sacrificed at the sake of dealing with his issues. So I always appreciate a good balance. And this book seems to be that.

    My TBR LandMass is cackling right now.

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  13. Queen of Romance says

    March 7, 2010 at 11:03 pm

    I really enjoyed this review, this book sounds so good, it is definitely on my bookshelf of books to read!!!

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